Loose-leaf binder



vach '24, 1959 R. G. DEMAREST, JR 2,878,87

v LOOSE-LEAF BINDER Filed Jan. 2, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG March 24,V 1959 R. G. DEMAREST, JR 2,878,817

LOOSE-LEAF BINDER Filed Jan. 2, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 if i f7 @Q FIG. 6

FIG.5

@www swfefsk INVENTOR.

March 24, 1959 R. G. DEMAREST, JR

LOOSE-LEAF BINDER 3 SheetsSheet 3 Filed Jan. 2, 1958 INVENTOR.

United States Patent C i LOOSE-LEAF BINDER Russell G. Demarest, Jr., Glen Rock, N. J.

Application January 2, 1958, Serial No. 706,845

12 Claims. (Cl. 12924) My invention relates to looseleaf binders and is directed particularly to improvements in a binder of the type capable of conveniently holding large quantities of paper having a wide variety of shapes and sizes, such as is described in my copending application entitled Looseleaf Binder, Serial No. 644,791, iled March 8, 1957, now Patent No. 2,832,348, issued April 29, 1958.

One object of my invention is to provide a looseleaf binder capable of conveniently holding a substantially greater volume of paper in proportion to the binders thickness than that which can normally be held by a conventional ring binder of equal thickness.

Another object of my invention is to provide a looseleaf binder that, with contained pages spread in open condition on left and right-hand sides, presents an uninterrupted paper surface without binding ring interference.

` Another object is to provide a looseleaf binder of the above nature whose contained pages, when spread in open condition on left and right-hand sides, lie close together at their inside edges, thereby presenting a practically continuous paper surface useful for single charts, diagrams, etc. that are too big for one page.

Another object is to provide a looselcaf binder the pages of which, for either writing, reading, note-taking, or quick reference can either be turned in the regular page direction from side to side, or raised from bottom to top unimpeded by restraining rings of the conventional type ring binder.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a looseleaf binder the post elements of which can be opened to any degree up to a wide maximum so that when single sheets of paper are to be inserted at a number of dif ferent places, the posts can be separated just enough to admit one or two sheets, whereupon the following sheets of paper can be turned with very slight danger of their coming out, after which another insertion can be made, etc. If a thick pile of papers are to be inserted into the binder, the post elements can be spread wide enough for the purpose.

Another object of my invention is to provide a looseleaf binder whose paper-holding elements, of whatever type, open easily without the resistance found in the opening of rings in the conventional binders.

A further object is to provide a looseleaf binder the covers of which when the binder is closed will always be parallel to each other, thereby making iteasy to place the binder between other books on a book shelf and allowing other articles or binders to be piled on top of the` binder when it is lying at.

Another object of my invention is to provide a looseleaf binder structure of the above nature having selfcontained means for perforating papers with holes of proper size and shape and located at the proper position for binding.

A further object is to provide a looseleaf binder of the above nature which will be simple in construction, in'- Patented Mar. 24, 1959 2 expensive to manufacture, compact and very elcient and durable in use.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a binder embodying the invention shown in open condition and ready for the insertion of papers,

Fig. 2 is a view of the binder in closed position illustrating the supporting structure for securely holding the outer edges of the binder covers in spaced parallel relation,

Fig. 3 is a top view of the binder shown in open condition,

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the binder, taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view as in Fig. 4, but showing the binder in closed condition,

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line 6 6 of Fig. 5 in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective fragmentary view, in exploded condition, of the outer cover post hinge mechanism,

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the post hinge mechanism illustrated in Fig. 7, showing the locking feature thereof,

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view in vertical section illustrating details of the hinge structure of the outer back cover post,

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of the binder posts illustrating their cross-sectional size relative to the paper binding holes,

Fig. l1 is a cut-away View of the binder in closed condition illustrating the arrangement of the binding posts allowing for maximum paper content relative to binder thickness, and

Fig. l2 is a supporting arm.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the looseleaf binder embodying the invention comprises a flat, rectangular, central side member 10, preferably of a light weight metal such as aluminum, along the top and bottom edges of which are secured top and bottom reinforcing edge strips 11 and i2, respectively, said strips being provided with grooves for receiving the ends of said side member. The looseleaf binder further comprises a rectangular front cover member 13 which is similarly reinforced at the top and bottom by grooved reinforcing edge strips 14 and 15, respectively. The inner ends of the top and bottom edge strips 14 and 15 are hinged to the left-hand ends of the edge strips 11 and 12 of the central side member 10 by hinges 16 and 17. Secured near the outer edge of the front cover member 13 are a pair of upper and lower support blocks 18 and 19, respectively. The support block 18 has pivoted thereto, by means of a transverse pin 18a, one end of a support post 20, and the lower post support block 19 has pivoted thereto, as by a hinge pin 19a, a similar support post 21. As illustrated in Fig. 2 when the front cover member 13 is folded over into closed position of the looseleaf binder, the posts 20 and 21 are operative to swing downwardly for supporting said top cover in a manner hereinbelow to be described.

The outer end portions of the supporting posts atl the inner ends of the posts 20, 21 are flattened as indicated at 22 and 23, respectively to abut against the underside of the front cover member 13 and thereby limit theI downward swinging motion of said posts. The inside outer edge portion of the cover member 13 is also provided with a linger grip member 24 to facilitate opening the binder.

Swingably secured at the right-hand edge of the central side member as by top and bottom hinges 25 and 26, respectively, are a pair of upper and lower grooved edge strips similar to the grooved edge strips 11, 12, 14, and 15. Slidably disposed between the grooved edge strips 27 and 28 is a back cover member 29. Secured along the outer edge of the back cover member 29 is a longitudinal support member 3G which comprises a central portion 31 running along the outer edge of said back cover member and a pair of upper and lower inwardly-offset portions 32 and 33, respectively. The inwardly-offset portions 32 and 33 of the longitudinal support member 3) forms upper and lower shoulders 34 and 35 against which the lower end of the front cover support posts Ztl and 21 abut when the looseleaf binder is in closed position, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The posts Z0 and 21 when in supporting position are slightly inwardly inclined and have their lower ends beveled to t squarely against the upper surface of the back cover member 29. It will be apparent that when the binder is in closed condition and the supporting posts are in abutment with their respective shoulders 3-4 and 35 of the longitudinal support member 3d on the baclt cover member 29, said back cover member will be constrained against sliding outwardly with respect to the grooved edge strips 27 and 28 to which it is assembled.

A double post system is provided for removably holding papers in the looseleaf binder, the same comprising inner and outer laterally spaced post members 38 and 39 secured at their lower end to the inner surface of the back cover member 29 near the upper inside corner thereof. The inner post member 38 is integrally formed at its upper end with a curved and horizontally-extending cnd portion 40. As indicated at 41, the upper end or the outer post member 39 has hinged thereto a curved member 42 extending in parallel spaced relation above the curved end portion of the inner post 38. The terminal end of the horizontally-extending portion Lttl of the inner post member 33 is formed with a recessed or stepped portion 43 and the curved member extending from the outer post member 39 is similarly formed at its terminal end with a recessed or stepped portion 44.

Hinged to the central side member 10, as indicated at 45a, is an integrally formed double post member generally indicated at 45, the same comprising an inner post member 46 and an outer post member 47. The inner and outer post members i6 and 47 are complemental in their r shape to the inner and outer posts 38 and 39 of the back cover member 29 and are formed at their terminal ends with recesses or stepped portions 48 and (i9, respectively, which intertit with the terminal ends of the posts 38 and 39 when the posts are in erect or setup condition, as can clearly be seen in Fig. 3. The binder posts are so arranged on their respective side member and back cover members 10 and 29 that their interjoined ends, when in setup condition, are in vertical alignment above the facing vertical edges of said side member and said back cover member. lt will also be noted that the inner edge of the back cover member 29, when said back cover member is in fully inserted position, is slightly foreshortened to provide a small gap which is substantially equal to the depth or" the recesses or steps in the interjoined ends of said posts.

The hinge 41 supporting the curved member' 42 of the outer post member 39 is operative to allow said curved member to told outwardly as illustrated in Fig. l1 of the drawings to provide compact folding of the looseleat' binder in a manner hereinbelow more fully described. As illustrated in Fig. 9, the hinge 41 comprises a cross pin 50 interconnecting the intertting ends of the outer post member 39 and the curved member 42, said ends being formed with complementary curved portions 51 and 52 which prevent forward swinging of the curved memlber 52 and which limit outward or backward movement thereof to the right angular position by virtue of the upper end of the curved member 52 abutting the lower edge of the curved post member 42.

The hinge 45a between the central side member 10 and the lower end of the double post member 45 comprises means to lock in said post member in the erect position, as illustrated in Fig. 4, for example, and to limit downward swinging movement to the inward direction only, as illustrated by the flat folded condition thereof in Figs. l and 1l. To this end, as shown in detail in Figs. 7 and 8, the central side member 10 is formed with a recess comprising a central arcuate groove 53 having a vertical wall surface 54 extending at its lower end into a rectangular cut-out portion 55. The horizontal ends of the arcuate groove terminate in shallow rectangular end recesses 56 and 57 `in alignment with the cut-out portion 55. Secured within the recess thus formed is a hinge post 82 having end portions 58 and 59 which seat in the end recesses 56 and 57 respectively, and a downwardly offset central portion 60 which seats within the rectangular cut-out portion 59. Extending upwardly from the end portions 58, 59, respectively, are a pair of pivot posts 61, 62, the upper ends of which extend above the surface of the central side member 10. The lower end of the double post member 45 is formed with a central downwardlyxtending portion 63 which fits between the pivot posts 61 and 62, and which is provided with opposed rectangular cut-outs 64, 65 within which the upper ends of said pivot posts extend. Hinge pins 66 and 67 interjoin the cuter end portions of the double post member 45 with the respective pivot posts 61, 62. As can best be seen in Fig. 8, the upper edge of the rectangular cut-out portion 55 of the hinge post 57 projects slightly above the bottom of the arcuate groove 53, and the top surface of said cut-out portion is formed with a lateral V-groove 68. The lower edge of the downwardly-extending portion 63 of the double post member 45 is formed with a rounded V- shaped end 69 which snaps over the upwardly-projecting edge of the cut-out portion 55 of the hinge post 57 and into the V-groove 68 thereof for releasably locking said post member in vertical position with a snapping action. Abutment of the lower end of the downwardly-extending portion 63 of the double bent member 45 against the vertical wall surface 54 prevents downward movement of said double bent member in the outward direction with respect to the central side member 10, that is, in the clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 8.

Means is provided forpunching holes in papers to be bound in the looseleaf binder, the same comprising a rectangular paper punchingslot 70 secured along its outer vertical edge by means of a piano hinge 71 against the outer edge portion of the inside of the front cover member 13.

The paper punching slot 70 is provided near its lower inside corner with a pair of vertically aligned elongated openings 72, 73, the opening 73 being the longer of the two. Fitted within the openings '72, 73 are hardened metal cutters 74, 75, respectively, having inwardly projecting rectangular cutting edges operative when pressed against upwardly projecting complementary backing members 76, 77 tted in the front cover member 13 (sce Figs. 4, 5, and 6) to punch corresponding rectangular post openings in papers to be bound. The cutters 74, are so located in the paper punching slot 7i) that the paper need only be fitted down against the inner surface of the bottom edge strip 15 and inwardly against the inner edge 78 of the hinge 71 for properly indexing the paper and thereby locating the binder holes when the punched paper is thereafter turned over from top to bottom. .Iny Fig. 4 it can be seen how a sheet of paper punched with holes 79 and 80 by the abovedcscribed cutting means can be moved freely overthe double post system from one side to the other. As illustrated in Fig.

10, the spacing between the paper holes 79 and 80 is only slightly less than the spacing between the vertical posts 38 and 39 and the corresponding spacing between the vertical portions of the binder posts forming the double post member 45, whereby lateral movement of bound papers when at one side or the other of the looseleaf binder, will be kept to a minimum. When it is desired to remove or insert pages into the binder, it is only necessary to withdraw the back cover member 29, as illustrated by the dotted line representation thereof in Fig. l whereby the post system will be separated at their junction points. The separation thus effected can be either slight or great depending upon the number of sheets to be inserted or removed.

In order to prevent free movement of the paper punching slot 70 when not in use, hold-down clips 81 and 82 are pivotally arranged on the top and bottom strips 14 and 15, respectively, said clips being adapted to be turned to hold down upper and lower end portions of said slot.

Fig. 11 illustrates how the upper surface of the curved member 42 associated with the paper posts 39, when folded outwardly for closing the binder, lies closely adjacent the inner surface of the front cover member 13 together with the upper end of the inner post 38. It will be apparent that since the upper horizontal portion of the inner post 38 is of small width, virtually the entire space within the binder can be used for holding paper without limitation due to hinge construction.

Though only one form in which the invention may be embodied in practice is illustrated and described in this specification, it is to be understood that this form is given by way of illustration only and that the invention is not to be limited to he particular disclosure, but may be modiiied and embodied in various other equivalent forms without departing fnom its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what claim as new and for which it is desired to obtain Letters Patent is:

1. In a looseleaf binder, the combination comprising, a backing member having a pair of spaced parallel longitudinal edges, a front cover member hinged to one .of said spaced longitudinal edges, a back cover member hinged to the other of said spaced longitudinal edges, support means to hold said front and back cover members in spaced parallel relation when they are swung in spaced parallel alignment with respect to each other upon closure of the binder, and a paper support mechanism on said backing member and said back cover member comprising a rst pair of laterally spaced posts extending upwardly from an upper end portion of said backingL member, a second pair of equally laterally spaced posts in lateral alignment with said rst posts and extending upwardly from said back cover member, the inner ones of both said first and second pairs of posts being spaced the same distance from the juncture of said backing member and said back cover member, the outer ends of said inner posts and the outer posts, respectively being provided with separable, laterally-extending interiitting portions for continuous passage of paper bound on said posts from one side of said binder to the other.

2. The looseleaf binder as dened in claim 1 wherein said posts are of rectangular cross-section.

3. The looseleaf binder as delined in claim 1 wherein the interitting portions of said posts comprise complementary stepped junctures.

4. The looseleaf binder as dened in claim l including hinge means interconnecting said rst pair of posts and said backing member operative to allow said first pair of posts to be swung inwardly down as a unit against said backing member upon closure of the binder.

5. The looseleaf binder as dened in claim 4 wherein said hinge means comprises detent mechanism to releasably hold said first pair of posts in upwardly-extending position.

6. The looseleaf binder as defined in claim 5 wherein said hinge means comprises detent mechanism to releasably hold said irst pair of posts in upwardly-extending position and means to prevent outward swinging of said first pair of posts with respect to said backing member.

7. The looseleaf binder as deiined in claim 1 including means for withdrawing a portion of said back cover member supporting said second pair of posts laterally from said backing member for adjustably separating the intertting portions of said post members.

8. The looseleaf binder as defined in claim 7 wherein said withdrawing means comprises a back panel and upper and lower edge members having lateral facing grooves, the upper and lower edges of said panel being slidably titted in said grooves.

9. The looseleaf binder as dened in claim 7 wherein said front and back cover support means comprises support members hinged to the outer edge of said front cover member and swingable downwardly against said back panel.

10. The looseleaf binder as defined in claim 7 wherein said front and back cover support means comprises support members hinged to the outer edge of said front cover member and swingable downwardly against said back panel, the outer edge of said panel being provided with a vertically-extending abutment member having a pair of lateral shoulder portions against which the lower edges of said swingable support members abut whensaid panel is in fully inserted position and said binder is closed, whereby said panel is locked in place.

1l. The looseleaf binder as dened in claim 1 wherein said laterally-extending interftting portion of the outer of said second pair of posts is provided with a hinge allowing outward movement thereof to an extent of degrees with respect to said post to provide for compact closure of said binder.

12. The looseleaf binder as defined in claim 1 wherein said laterally-extending intertting portion of the outer of said second pair of posts is provided with a hinge allowing outward movement thereof to an' extent of 90 degrees with respect to said post to provide for compact closure of said binder, said hinge comprising abutment means preventing inward swinging movement of said last-mentioned intertting portion of said posts.

No references cited. 

